With everything the country is going through right now, we’ve all become extra eager to witness each other’s wins. That’s why we viewers cheer twice as loud during the jackpot round of the “Laro Laro Pick” segment on "It’s Showtime," where players with inspiring stories take their shot at life-changing prize money.
In this round, a player can either go for the bigger POT, where they need to answer a trivia question correctly to win, or play it safe with the smaller LI-POT offer.
Choosing the POT always comes with a rush of thrill which turns the entire studio into a rollercoaster of nerves, cheers, and prayers. Everyone hopes the contestant gives the right answer, while others simply enjoy playing along and guessing themselves.
In the video, Kapamilya Toplist looks back at the unforgettable moments when contestants dared to take on the biggest prized POT questions in “Laro Laro Pick.”
When the POT question climbed to a whopping ₱400,000, Shid, a fitness instructor, bravely took the risk. For the first time, the LI-POT offer reached ₱100,000, the highest at that point. But Shid stood in his decision and faced the POT question, which was, “Anong lalawigan o probinsya sa Pilipinas ang may tagline na ‘The Heart of the Philippines'?" Taking a wild guess, he answered “Metro Manila,” but the correct answer was Marinduque. He may not have taken home the jackpot, still he won the crowd’s admiration for his courage to fight it out until the very end.
Since Shid wasn’t able to answer the jackpot question, the prize rose to ₱450,000, a chance boldly taken by Rhepz, an on-call waiter for a catering service who also sidelines as a guitar luthier. He turned down the ₱25,000 LI-POT offer to face the POT question, "Ang address ng ABS-CBN ay may zip code na 1103. Ano ang ibig sabihin ng ‘P’ sa acronym na ZIP?” Rhepz answered “postal,” which sounded like it could be right, but the correct meaning of ZIP is Zone Improvement Plan. Though he didn’t bring home the jackpot, there’s no doubt the universe has a better plan waiting for him.
Half a million pesos was on the line when guest co-host Shuvee Etrata got the chance to play in the final game, where the prize would go to a randomly selected studio audience member. With her partner’s encouragement, Shuvee went for the ₱500,000 POT question,“Noong 1992, pinadala ang kauna-unahang SMS text message, ano ang mensaheng ito?” She played it safe with “I love you,” but the correct answer was “Merry Christmas.” That iconic greeting was sent on December 3, 1992 by engineer Neil Papworth.
The jackpot prize then grew to ₱550,000, which was almost hit by Noy, a bartender and loving father. To test his courage, the LI-POT offer was raised to ₱100,000, but Noy turned it down and went for the POT question about the correct spelling of “fuchsia.” Unfortunately, he missed by two letters. But since Vice Ganda didn’t want anyone going home empty-handed, she gave Noy ₱10,000 as an early Christmas gift.
Next, the madlang 'estudyante' players was represented by Bismark, a scholar and Journalism student from the University of the Philippines. Being a student, he’s no stranger to test questions, and both his fellow players and the studio audience believed he had a strong chance at answering the POT question correctly. With full confidence, Bismark chose to go for the ₱600,000 POT over the ₱25,000 LI-POT offer.
He almost nailed it with the question, “Ano ang Top 1 most common password sa mga websites at apps sa buong mundo sa taong 2025?” His answer was “1234,” which was so close, but the correct one was “123456.” He might not have cracked the POT, but the hosts chipped in and gave Bismark ₱10,000 as a reward for his fighting spirit.
The POT money eventually ballooned to ₱650,000, the biggest in the history of the segment so far. Playing in the jackpot round during the episode featuring factory workers, Khen shared how difficult it has been to pay off his debts and how he still couldn’t go home to his family. Vice Ganda herself gave him the push to choose the POT, saying that one correct answer could solve his problems and completely change his family’s life.
Tension was all over Khen’s face as he went back and forth between POT and LI-POT, until he finally locked in his choice to risk it all on the jackpot question, "Ano ang popular full name ng kasalukuyang Senate President Pro Tempore ng Pilipinas na siya ring Chairman ng Senate Blue Ribbon Committee?" Meme Vice even gave him a clue, "Dati siyang pulis." And within five seconds, Khen answered, "Ping Lacson."
The studio turned into a sea of happy tears. The hosts, audience, and Khen himself was in tears of joy after he won the ₱650,000 POT money. Vice wrapped up the segment, saying, "Masayang masaya kami na sa puntong 'to, isa man lang sa mga kababayan natin na hirap na hirap na ang natulungan natin. Kahit paisa-isa lang."
Let’s look forward to more winning moments in Laro Laro Pick on "It’s Showtime," airing Mondays to Saturdays, 12 NN on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), A2Z, GMA 7, and iWant.